Foreign Minister Winston Peters. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER
The government will run a full national interest test on a draft Pandemic Treaty negotiated by the World Health Assembly before deciding whether to sign up to it.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Health Minister Simeon Brown have confirmed government officials will scrutinise the draft at length, to ensure it preserves sovereign decision-making, before giving any commitments to the WHO.
Now that negotiations on the draft Treaty have been completed, it will be discussed at the annual meeting in Geneva next week.
Peters said it was important to ensure the treaty wouldn't interfere with New Zealand making its own decisions on travel bans, vaccination mandates, or lockdowns in the future.
"Decisions about how New Zealand responds to any health emergency are made in Wellington, not Geneva, and we are determined to preserve our sovereign decision-making ability," he said.
"While negotiations on the draft Treaty have been completed, there are a number of steps remaining - which are likely to take some years - before the New Zealand government will take a decision on whether or not we should sign up."
It has taken three years of negotiations to get to the point where the treaty is being presented in draft-form to the WHO for adoption.
Brown said the government supports "strengthening global health systems to improve pandemic preparedness and response".
"This will also help New Zealand support our Pacific partners to better manage future pandemic responses in our region," he said.
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